


Where Words Fail, Music Speaks

by SaltySweetMerm



Series: Music To My Eyes [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Cute, F/M, Fluff, Gen, I've decided that's what this will be, WinterShock - Freeform, a five plus one that's just super heckin extra, and this fic may just be a progression towards these ideas, bear with me, because I have no plan for these chapters, eventually other avengers - Freeform, i fully intend on basing most of these of songs, i have a playlist, i just have a lot of ideas, i just write as i go, not song fics though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2020-01-31 13:20:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18592066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaltySweetMerm/pseuds/SaltySweetMerm
Summary: Some time had passed since Bucky's unexpected introduction to Darcy Lewis.  Four months and eight days to be exact. Two months since she finally got that damn cast removed.Or just another 5+1 fic where Bucky runs across Darcy and her music five times and the one time he catches her dancing.





	Where Words Fail, Music Speaks

Sunset had left a blanket of orange light draped over most of the Avengers compound. Sharp contrasts of sunlight and shadows cast by the angular buildings hung to the East but, unfortunately for Darcy, not even her own hand could be used as cover from the assault on her retinas. Her face scrunched as she squinted and blinked back tears. Gods, this particular sunset sucked. Usually, the intern enjoyed sunsets, but that was admittedly behind windows that she now suspected has some sort of radiation protection layer or what not. She shifted the boxes and equipment crammed (quite spectacularly) in her arms as she made her way towards the quinjet. Jane was standing at the base of the loading ramp, nervously directing some of the heavy lifters on where to pack her precious science equipment. 

“Darcy, oh thank God--” Jane rushed over to help with the burden of equipment that occupied her (now official) Assistant Laboratory Manager. Despite Darcy’s lack of credentials in the area, Jane had vouched for her on numerous fronts to get her the position. Mostly because there was no one else that could, sometimes literally, dance around her lab space the way Darcy could. And it was also significantly better pay, which Darcy deserved. 

“Did you pack the--”

“Already in the jet. And...” she trails off, smiling as she jerks her shoulder a bit. A lunch bag that had been slung around her upper arm fell forward, swinging now from her forearm. Jane’s eyes followed the movement, a grateful smile blooming on her face. Darcy flashed a knowing smirk before clicking her tongue and moving past Jane to begin loading the last of her wonky, space tech onto the jet. Jane followed on her heels, beginning to prattle off the list of supplies and equipment she’d need for her upcoming space jam. Okay, it was really a hunt to track down some anomalies and record some data; either way, the triple degree astrophysicist needed to be there to observe the going-ons. Ever since Earth was so rudely introduced to bonafied aliens in New York on a one-way ticket to ride, not to mention the alien elves in London calling, the planet had become susceptible to otherworldly knocks on its proverbial door. Luckily, they all seemed to be ding-dong-ditches. So far. Darcy huffed as she plopped the box and some stray tools down. This trip of Jane’s might be a couple days but she sure as hell was packing like it was going to be an extended adventure. 

“Okay, Darcy… I think that’s everything!” Jane smiled widely, the excitement pooling in her eyes. Darcy let out a chuckle at that.  _ Like a kid at Christmas.  _

“Good. Because you need to get out of here if you’re going to make it to the first anomalie.”

“You know, I don’t know if my poor quinjet will be able to handle all the extra stress, Dr. Foster,” a voice came from the cockpit. Clint Barton strolled towards the two women, a light, teasing smile on his face. “You might have to sacrifice...” he trailed off, eyes darting around all of Jane’s tech, “...that thing. Yep. Way too heavy,” he nods at a rather large device with a more serious face, but eyes still full of mirth. 

“Touch any of her babies and you will be on the receiving end of some serious ass-chewing, Barton”

“Don’t forget last time you tried to touch my equipment,” Jane warned, a small amount of actual annoyance seeping into her words. Thoughts of New Mexico came back to all three, Clint especially remembering how Jane looked murderous at the SHIELD agents taking her homespun science tech. And now she had an actual god to stick up for her. Clint shuddered dramatically at the thought.

“Good point. All right, Foster. You all set then?” Clint smiled more genuinely at the scientist. Jane nodded, eyes alight with determination. Barton nodded back before heading back to the pilot's seat and tossing back a “Wheels up in two,” warning. Jane let out a breath as she turned back to her assistant. Gratitude now replaced the excitement in her eyes. 

“You sure you’re going to be okay here without me?” She’s met with an eye roll.

“Right. You’ve done this before,” Jane replied sheepishly.

“In New Mexico, in Norway, in London, in--”

“Thank you, Darcy.” The newly appointed assistant is cut off as her employer and best friend wraps her in a hug. Darcy smiles and returns the embrace, squeezing the tiny, triple PhD scientist in comfort. 

“You got it, Boss.” Jane pulled back from their hug and smiled before heading deeper into the quinjet. Several support staff were tagging along and had already strapped into their seats so Jane quickly made her way over to join them. The engines of the aircraft whirred to life and that was Darcy’s cue to head off. Once she had gone a safe distance away, she turned to watch as Barton got the jet in the air, the wind created from the engines mercilessly whipping Darcy’s waves of hair in all sorts of directions. She brought a hand to her eyebrows, finally able to shade her eyes from the sun as the quinjet-turned-mobile-lab took off into the air. Once the air around her settled Darcy sighed, looking down at the concrete as if it would have an answer on how she was going to spend the next three hours. She’d have to be awake to connect the data transfer program when Jane inevitably got set up at the first site. The lab would be empty, since there was nothing to do yet but set up data collection. Jane’s leftover lab staff wouldn’t be back to begin actually analyzing and cataloging the raw data until morning. In the meantime, Darcy supposed she would just have to keep herself entertained until Jane called. Then it dawned on her: Stark had finally installed a bluetooth speaker system in the lab so that Darcy could fully enjoy her music as she worked. 

_ Party in the astro lab. Guest(s): Me. _

  
* * *

Some time had passed since Bucky's unexpected introduction to Darcy Lewis.  Four months and eight days to be exact. Two months since she finally got that damn cast removed. And even so, she would occasionally wear a splint over the following months. He didn’t even want to think about how many times he’d either gone to approach her or even just spotted her in passing with her hand above her head, forearm propped on the top of her noggin like a kid who got tired of raising their hand; no doubt an attempt on her part to keep any swelling down. She was smart, that dame. And it wrecked him that he’d been the one at fault for her handicap-- even if it was temporary. The last thing he wanted was to hurt anyone. Despite his internal conflict over the incident, he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to try and help her recover. He may not have a complete grasp on his days as the soldier, but James Buchanan Barnes was raised a responsible man. At least, he took responsibility for his actions like his Ma always taught him. And so for the past several months, Bucky found himself attempting to check in on Darcy whenever opportunity arose. At first, he started scoping out Darcy’s daily routine, noticing her pattern of fetching a mid-morning coffee, snack, or sometimes even an espresso. The occasional espresso happened to be for the days in which she had been up late with Dr. Foster the night previous. And by late, it was most likely an all-nighter.  

Now, as far as excuses went for why Bucky would be hanging out in the kitchen and adjoining lounge closest to Dr. Foster’s lab-- well, calling it an excuse just wasn’t accurate. The area was spacious and had one of the best views, in Bucky’s opinion. The completely windowed wall was semi-circular and faced the South, allowing clear views from the West to the East. The windows stretched to the ceiling, which angled up in a cone-shape that attached to the rest of the rectangular facility. The design gave the room a two-story feel and even allowed room for a small upper balcony furnished with three small bistro tables. This balcony had been where James chose to situate himself, enjoying the view out the many windows in addition to the seclusion it provided. The fact that it was also where Darcy happened to frequent was just a bonus. And it wasn’t like Darcy hadn’t been aware of him either. He made a point to begin grabbing a coffee and the newspaper before heading up to his usual spot after Darcy had already been there, the two exchanging a short good morning to each other in passing. One moning, Bucky decided to head over earlier, starting the coffee machine so a fresh pot would be ready by the time Darcy arrived. Darcy appeared to be extremely gracious that her coffee needs were met a little bit sooner in the mornings, if her beaming smile was anything to go by. What Bucky hadn’t anticipated was the company that she offered. Instead of simply returning to the lab like he’d come to observe, she joined him up at the table where he’d already been seated. She smiled kindly at him and damn if that didn’t make him want to float away. 

“Care if I join you…?” she asked. She had already taken a seat, however, and Bucky didn’t really feel the need to oppose. In an instant, Darcy’s routine suddenly adjusted to include their morning coffee ritual: he’d start the coffee and she’d join him soon after. Their conversations started simple and he could tell she was gauging what sort of topics he’d respond to. But despite her social nature, she would sometimes just let the silence fall over them as they sipped on their coffee. He was grateful for the gentle attention; he didn’t realize how much he’d actually craved human interaction again. When on the run from both Hydra and SHIELD, he’d relished the short conversations with random shop keeps as he bought food or supplies. It was short and just enough to keep himself grounded. Enough to remind himself that he was still human despite… well, everything. After a few shared mornings together, Bucky decided to add orange juice to their routine. He may not be a doctor, but he remembered his Ma insisting on feeding his little sister all the vitamin C possible when she’d broken her arm. He couldn't shake the urge to not do the same for Darcy. The next morning they met, Bucky had two glasses of orange juice already poured. This was met with a quizzical look from Darcy and he just shrugged, pushing the glass closer to her. She didn't press further, instead accepting the juice and clinking it against his own.

“Thanks, Barnes,” she said before taking a few sips. 

“No, problem, dol-- Darcy,” he stumbled, the words leaving his lips before he can stop them. He flushed and struggled with himself on whether to lower his head and hide his face or to keep his eyes on hers and gauge her reaction. He chose the latter. Thankfully Darcy appeared unfazed, setting her glass down and offering a forgiving shrug. Relieved, he settled his gaze on the newspaper he’d laid on the table, eyes scanning over the various front page articles but not really reading any.

“Still better than my last name-- Something I  _ still _ can’t get Sam or Steve to quit using.” Bucky remained silent, glancing down at his own glass of orange juice. He smiled a fraction, eyes still fixed to the paper in front of him.

“Old habits die hard. Military personnel usually refer to each other by their last names. Less confusing that way.” 

Darcy nodded as he explained, understanding  _ how _ but still not  _ why _ . Noticing both of their coffee mugs were low, she picked up the pot they now kept at their table and topped both off. In the moments between Darcy pouring the coffee and Bucky reading a small side column, he’s surprised to look up and see his cup already doctored. Well, it had the cream at least. He brought the drink to his lips, surprised again that it contained just the right amount of sugar to sate his sweet tooth. He tried not to grin like an idiot at the revelation, hiding just enough behind the mug to cover any falter in his expression. 

“Wait, but Steve never calls Sam ‘Wilson’ or you, ‘Barnes’ so…” she trailed off, her eyes glaring into her coffee as if it would reveal truth: that punk  _ still _ didn’t know how to talk to women. Bucky supposed Sam only followed suit at first, but then continued it just to goad her after Darcy most likely made a point to use her first name. He couldn’t suppress the small chuckle at the revelation, shaking his head and taking another sip of his coffee. His eyes lifted back to Darcy, who now gave him a curious look. Bucky pressed his lips into a line and glanced away, unwilling to reveal the truth. These sorts of conversations weren’t something he was entirely comfortable having, yet. Training, working out, following a routine; that was easy. All it required from him was his presence. Sure, he communicated effectively enough; but that was because it never required actual socializing. He was well aware of the attempts made by the others, but ( _ thankfully _ ) no one ever pushed him. Darcy must have picked up on his sudden discomfort and jokingly dismissed her inquiry with a grumble about boys and their secrets. She kept most of the conversation going after that, moving on to talk about how her brother and his friends would keep silly secrets from her just to annoy her. Then to other topics that also annoyed her and so on until she had to head back to Jane’s lab. Bucky wasn’t able to stop himself from staring after her, completely in awe of her ability to pick up subtle social cues. Too curious on what her background was to just ask her next time he saw her, he ended up pulling up a faculty page on Stark’s website. Her official title was Assistant Lab Manager for one Dr. Jane Foster. But her actual degree was in political science. That explained quite a bit, like her ability to keep conversations going, handling Dr. Foster's research assistants and underlings, and even going toe-to-toe with Stark (or so he'd heard). 

A sigh pushed its way past Bucky's lips. Just a couple months ago, he'd been debating getting to know her better-- mostly for his own sanity's sake. Even Steve agreed, noting how he had bonded with the snarky lab assistant when she'd heard about his list. That is, Steve's list of suggested catch-up material. Apparently Darcy had  _ a lot _ of suggestions and saw to it that he followed through on most of them. All in all, she seemed like a great gal. But then she had found him mid-breakdown, and even if Bucky hadn't broken her wrist, he had been positive that she'd want nothing to do with him after. In fact, he was good and ready to avoid further contact if it hadn't been for the fact that Steve vehemently urged Bucky to apologize to Darcy. That apology is what brought Bucky back around to the idea that maybe he, too, could befriend the lab assistant. He hadn't been expecting her beaming smile or easy acceptance of what happened. She even tried apologizing to him, as if it was her fault in the first place. He had left her to her work after that but it wasn't long before she spotted him and continued her attempt to mollify him about the incident. She even tried insisting that she should have known better than to approach someone suffering from a traumatic episode or some such nonsense and that she was just relieved that everything was still “cool” between them. And according to her, she'd been through worse. That somehow wasn't comforting to him and he made a mental note to ask her about that later. Except that he wouldn't have to, because in the next minute she had gone into her history with Dr. Foster and Thor and the “fire-breathing space knight” and “creepy doll-masked space elves.” 

Bucky was suddenly aware of another presence in the room. He didn't have to look up to recognize the figure in his peripherals who approached. 

“Sergeant Barnes…” acknowledged the calm, cool voice. He held back a sigh, keeping his features neutral before replying. 

“Natalia.”

**Author's Note:**

> WELCOME BACK, MY DARCYLAND LOVLIES. It's me. The one that said I was planning on possibly continuing this series. AND HERE IT IS! AND IT'S MULTI-CHAPTER! Hope you enjoy! I'm writing this as I go, so there will not be an upload schedule. I'm sorry, I know people prefer finished stories. But I have ideas that require lots of build up and I love a slow burn. And cuteness. I need sweet things in my life and I will achieve sweetness within this story. As far as explicit content... Yeah, I dunno, yet. I'm really just feelin' this one out. 
> 
> Cheers!


End file.
